reaming 45 throats

[bisley pete]

got a few 45 colt revolvers. a lead 451 wont go through cylinder. if i shoot lead i understand it would br good to open to 452 or .4525 but what about a bisley hunter I may shoot jacketed bullets in?

 

[cas6969]

a lead 451 wont go through cylinder.

That doesn't mean a whole lot.

Drive it through, then measure it afterwards.

 

[Dale53]

To answer your question. .4525" will shoot jacketed bullets just fine as well as cast bullets.

Dale53

 

[Rclark]

To answer your question. .4525" will shoot jacketed bullets just fine as well as cast bullets.

+2.

 

[robertkirksey]

Why don't you actually shoot the gun and see what happens?

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

Why don't you actually shoot the gun and see what happens?

Because a bullet that is .001 under SAAMI spec for minimum throat diameter won't pass through it.

 

[robertkirksey]

First of all, a lead bullet is not necessarily the diameter it is marketed to be, it is certainly not necessarily round, and is definitely not a pin gauge.

I am sure Ruger would pay big money to have in it's archives a .45 revolver of commercial manufacture whose chamber throats would stop the passage of fired bullets.

 

[Sal1950]

Shooting a .452 lead bullet through a .451 throat may cause a little extra leading in the cylinder and at the forcing cone, and a small increase in chamber pressures.
Shooting a .451 jacketed bullet through a .452 sized throat will cause a slight loss of velocity and chamber pressure.
You can't have your cake and eat it too, the throat can only be optimized for one or the other.
Unless of course you pick up an extra cylinder and have one optimized for each. A large expense for something you probably won't be able to notice the difference in, or if you do the difference will be small..
Sal

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

First of all, a lead bullet is not necessarily the diameter it is marketed to be, it is certainly not necessarily round, and is definitely not a pin gauge.

I am sure Ruger would pay big money to have in it's archives a .45 revolver of commercial manufacture whose chamber throats would stop the passage of fired bullets.

No, it is not a pin gauge. But he had an indication of possible undersized throats. I think it wise to determine what the throats measure before shooting it to "see what happens".

The OP did say he's got other 45s, but less experienced folks will read this, too.

 

[Rclark]

Shooting a .452 lead bullet through a .451 throat may cause a little extra leading in the cylinder and at the forcing cone, and a small increase in chamber pressures.

Not only that, you'll have loss of accuracy with small throats. For example, once I reamed my Vaquero's throats to .4525, my groups were cut in half. That was before I even fire lapped it (had a bore constriction too) . Having properly sized throats will never make your accuracy worse. Either stay the same or be better. Plus it helps with leading. Win Win. I've reamed all of my Rugers (.45 Colt and .45 ACP) to .4525 and all is well. Your jacketed bullets will shoot the same with a little less velocity is all (what's a couple fps) . No biggie.

As for using a bullet as a test.... It has always worked for me even bullets from different vendors (rimrock, penn, and even a local caster). A .452 bullet should pass each throat with finger pressure (make sure throats are absolutely clean). If it is obvious you need a hammer to get them though, you have undersized throats. BTW, I have a set of minus plug gauges too and use them.... an yep .... throats were undersized... some more than others... Anyway, the bullet test is a simple go/no go. YMMV

Won't hurt to shoot it with undersized throats of course. Heck, I didn't ream my first two .45s until later. After that enlightenment experience, each new .45 Colt revolver I buy is checked, and reamed if undersized even before firing. Same with forcing cone angle, but that is a different subject. Works for me....

 

[Bigshot270]

I recently bought a new 45 Bisley and I took it straight to my gunsmith. He measured all the throats and said they were egg shaped and varied wildly in size. He reamed them to .452 and the gun is a tack driver with lead and jacketed.

 

[Sal1950]

I recently bought a new 45 Bisley and I took it straight to my gunsmith. He measured all the throats and said they were egg shaped and varied wildly in size. He reamed them to .452 and the gun is a tack driver with lead and jacketed.

Sounds like a bit of exaggeration on his part but he does need to justify his work.
Lets see, if the throats were even close to the normal factory sizing of .451 and he took them out to .452, that left him a whole .0005 on each side to work with. "egg shaped and varied wildly in size" but repairable by removing 1/2 a thousand per side with a reamer. I very much doubt it.
Sal

 

[TomC321]

I have a few .45 Colt NMBHs, most with .45 ACP spare cylinders. They were all tight, some more than others, but many throats weren’t cylindrical. Some were oval, some were something other than round. Many were very tight, around .449”. Fortunately they all pretty well cleaned up with the .4525” reamer. Had to recut a couple of the .45 ACP cylinders as well. One of the .45 ACP cylinders is closer to .455”. It still shoots well. They usually had constrictions in the bore at the threads. I like 5 degree forcing cone cutters for that.

 

[tek4260]

Same here. There is no sense in even shooting it if the throats aren't right.

Here is an example, same loads, ect. The only difference is the size of the throats and a bit of fire lapping thrown in for good measure.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Every .45 Blackhawk I have owned had seriously undersized chamber throats . . . Old Models and New Models. In addition to being undersized, many were not round, either.

Reaming fixed 'em right up.

Just my own experience.

 

[Bigshot270]

I recently bought a new 45 Bisley and I took it straight to my gunsmith. He measured all the throats and said they were egg shaped and varied wildly in size. He reamed them to .452 and the gun is a tack driver with lead and jacketed.

Sounds like a bit of exaggeration on his part but he does need to justify his work.
Lets see, if the throats were even close to the normal factory sizing of .451 and he took them out to .452, that left him a whole .0005 on each side to work with. "egg shaped and varied wildly in size" but repairable by removing 1/2 a thousand per side with a reamer. I very much doubt it.
Sal

Jeeez...he was just using a figure of speech to comment on Rugers stock 45 cylinders. Justify his work??? No, hes probaly the best gunsmith in the area.